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POLITICAL DIALOGUES 



SOLDIKRS Ox\ TIIKIR lUGlIT TO \OTK 



mtn fh\\ Slnntlh Stiitjiurf 



HOl^. AVM. A. COOE^:, 



WASIIlNiri'DX. I). ( 



liv (■(...■nulp IVidt. 



I4J08 



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POLITICAL DIALOGUES. 

Soldiers on their Right to Vote, and the Men 
they should support. 



SCENE : 
TUE AllMY OF THE POTOMAC, NEAR THE WELDOX IIAILIIOAD 



STATES UEPRESENTED: 

rENXSYLVAXIA, OHIO, MICIIIGAX, WISCOXSIX, MIXXESOTA, 
ILLIXOIS, IXDIAXA, XEW YORK, ETC. 







TERSONS REPRESENTED: 




Cjphiin, - 


Pennsylvania Rci^imcnt. 


Lieut. Colonel, 


- Mhcbigan Regiment 


Ltcutaittnt, 


do 


do 


Adjutant, - • 


Wisconsin do 


Prituie, 


do 


do 


Drum Major, 


- Minnesota do 


»SVv.'7<;anf, 


do 


do 


Lieutenant, - - 


Illinois do 


Corporal, 


do 


do 


Chaplain, 


- Indiana do 


Mujor, - 


Ohio 


do 


Colonel, - - - 


New York do 



Scene I. 



PART I. 

rnSXSTLTANIA. 

Captain. ^YeU, Lieutenant, what's on hand 
aow? Yon seem quite engaged. 

Lieutenant. Not very Bpecially. I have just 
•iccn rcadine; the law passed at the August ei- 
u-a sesEion of the Pennsylvania Legislature 
regulating soldiers voting. It seems we are at 
length allowed the right to vote. 

Oiplain. Yes; I confess I never could see 
why wo were prevented from doing eo. In be- 
coming soldiers we certainly did not cease to 
be men, nor any kss citizens than before we 
put on our uniforms, drew our swords, and 
shouldered our gnns. 

Private. So I think. Captain. It was always 
% puzzle lo me. I have thought our rights 
ihould, if anything, be increased, not lessened; 
for there is no use in mincing matters. Don't 
we do more than those who stay a?, homo — at 



least more. Captain, than the pfoce men? W« 
have left home, with all its pleasures, joys, and 
comforts — wives, children, sisters, mothers, 
fathers— to defend the old flag; risked health 
and life to put down those who would dash our 
good old Union into ruin, and, I think, wt 
should at least be respected by those who re- 
main behind. 

Sergeant. Ned, I'm just of your way of think- 
ing, and I can't sco why we were kept froa 
voting because we became soldier boys. TaU 
and write, as some do, I fed I am just as muo 
entitled to a vote as when at home. 

Private. So do I. I am just as good a ma 
as when in " the Old Keystone," and Just ^ 
fit to vote; and I am mighty glad we are going 
to have the chance of voting once more. But, 
BOO here. Captain, how was it that we have been 
kept from doing so heretofore ; and thai thoM 



who did vote had their voles cast out? I ain't 
•ere I understand it. 

Captain. Well, I'll try and explain. In days 
of old, soldierB were held in high estimation. In 
L813 a law was passed giving them a right to 
Tote. In 18G9 the law was, almost word for 
Tord, reenacted. It stands sec. 43 of the Gene- 

il Election Law, approved 2d July of that 

B*r. It is in these words : 
Whenever any of tUe cltlzans of this Common- 
rfaltU, quallflcJ :is hereinbefore provided, Ehall be 
^a any actual militcry service la any detachment of 
the militia or corps &f voluntaera under a rcq^iiiition 
from the President of the United Slates, or by the au- 
thority or this Commonwealth, on the day of the 
general election, such citizens may exercise the 
right of Buffragf ^t such place as may be appointed 
iy the command hcer of ttio troop or company to 

which they 6ha:lro.-pectlveIy belong, as fully as If 
they were present at the U3ual place of election: 
Provided, That no member of any such troop or 
aompany ehall be permitted to vote at the place so 
ippolnted. If at the time of sach election he shall be 
within ten miles of the place at which he would be 
•ntltltd to vote if not In the eervloe aforesaid. 

Under this law, I believe soldiers voted during 
the Mexican war. No one objected to it then. 
Well, in 1861, the soldiers in Luzerne county 
voted in camp for Jerome Miller, a good Union 
man, for prosecuting attorney, and against 
Ezra B. Chase, a man who claitned to be a 
Democrat. The camp vote elected Miller. 
Uhase contended that soldicri had no right to 
vote, took the question into the Court of 
Quarter ScBsion?, where Judge Cunningham, an 
old war Democrat, decided iu favor of soldiers — 
sgainst Chase, and for Miller. Caose carried 
the case to the Supreme Court, where Judge 
Cunningham's opinion was reversed, and a de- 
cision given against us. 

rrlvaie. Who gave that opinion ? It couldn't 
have been any soldiers' friend. It must have 
been somt rebel sympathizer. 

Captain. You are correct. It was George 
W. WooDWAUD. Ih contending for our right 
lo vote, Messrs. Longstreet and Wharton had 
a«ed this argument: 

WLy Ehould the bravo voluntotr bo denlel the 
privilege and facUUIe* of votlnul Is he Icsi Intelll- 
Kcnt; less honest than those who stay at Lomei 



Is It Against the spirit of oar ln>tltutloni that h< 
should have those privileges and facility extended 
to him, or does public policy demand his dlsfran- 
chisementi Why, then, this attempt to annul the 
statute SiCHrlng to him these rights? Neither ths 
Constitution, the spirit of our Inslltutious, nor pub- 
lic policy dtmand It. 

Judge Cunningham had used a similar argu 
ment. In replying to it, Woodward tooli occa- 
sion to fling at us such inmlts as these: The 
43d section '^opens a wide door jar most odiow 
fraiul;^' that is, we can't act as upright citizeni 
because we are soldiers ! Again: ^'To seaire 
purity of election, it (^the Coiistitiition') would Imvi 
its voters in tTie place wliere they are best knoion o» 
t?ie day of the election;" that is, we are not as pure 
as those at home — can't be trusted to do right 
abroad ! Now my lads, I tell you that is ''.nfa- 
mo^is. But he goes on in this manner: "A good 
deal ?ias been said about the Iiardship of depriving 
so mcriiorioiis a class of voters as our volunteer 
soldiers of the right of voting. As a court of jus- 
tice we cannot feel the force of any s^cch considera- 
tion. We have no bounty to grant to soldier s,^^ 
etc. No soldiers had claimed from the court 
any "bounty" — only a right. It was that he de- 
nied us, and in the face, too, of the appeal o) 
Messrs. Longstreet and Wharton. 

Private. Just like him; I remember now. He 
is the man, too, that went in for keeping all 
Germans, and Irish, and Scot«h — all men from 
foreign climes — from voting; because I believe 
he had found out that they wouldn't vote foi 
him. 

Captain. Thai's it; Woodward knew that the 
soldiers wouldn't, when they came to reflect, 
vote for him or any of his crowd. For, while 
they went in for the whole country, he had par- 
ticular leanings for the South; while they stood 
by freedom, he went in for slavery; while thej 
shouted with Old Eickory, "The Union, it 
must be preserved," he was for changing and 
mending it to suit the lords of Virginia, and 
South Carolina, and Georgia, and other places 
of the sunny South. 

Sergeant. Hold on, Captain; I think you are 
a little too hard on Woodward. Have you got 
the record for what you say? 



Captain. That Ihavel flere It Is In bUck »n(l 
white. Here is a speech which he read "at 
the 1,'reat Uuion meeting in Philadelphia, De- 
cember 13, ISCO." 

Sergeant. Is it genuine I 

Captain. See. It was printed at the Age 
jQlce in 1SC3, and was sent out by Charley Bid- 
die, chairman of the Democratic State Central 
Committee, co the lOlh of September, 18C3. 

Now, let U3 sec what he says. On poge he 
iay-3 : 

TI18 Soutli sfoms Inclined to accept the jUl'k- 
ment of the pf ople at the polls In ISGO. Kvery wUerr 
In the Soutli the people aro beginning to look out 
for the means oT self-defence. Could It be eipoated 
Uiat they would be lnc!Iffereat to such events as 
aave occurred!— that thoy would b- IJle and see 
measures concerted and carried forward for the an- 
alhlHt!oD,80onerorlattr, of their property In slaves? 
Such ex; ectatlons, IflnUulsed, are not reasonable. 
A.nd It appears to me that there mu^t be a time lu 
iLe progress of tills conQIct, If U be Indeed Irrepres- 
ilble, when slaveholders miy lawfully fall back on 
lh.*T natural rights, and KMrLor 11* DSFEycB of 

THBIK SLAVB PROPERTY WHATKVBR MEAM8 OF 
PROTKCTION THEY P03SE38 OB CAN COMMAND. 

Captain. Boys, that is "^oing it steep." Se- 
cession up to the hub. More than that, actual 
destruction and ruin, and an encouragement to 
.he South to use all the means in their power to 
carry out their purposes. That's a full license 
for the thefts and murders of the rebels ; for 
±eir treatment of our prisoners, and their making 
rings of the bones of our dead and cups of their 
ikuUs, and all the rest of their outrages. 77ie 
rtbdlion has friends Xorth. But here, on page 
9, he says : 

The (JonstltuUoD, wLlch Is strong enough to 
Rovem tuch en (the revolutionary fathers), is too 
weak to restrain us who have out-grown the grave 
»nd moderite wisdom that excited no Irrepressible 
conflict between brethren, but taught them to dwell 
In unity. I would make It strong enough to reatriln 
ite madne£s of our day. 

And on page 10, he says : 

We mu«t arouse ourselves and reassert the 
rights of the Elaveholi!er, and add »ach guarintlei 
to the Constitution as will protect bis property from 
thr spoliation or religious bigotry tnU periecntlon, 



or t'lJt Tt' must rIt<' uy our Constitution aftd 
rnlon. 

l^ivale. Why I thought the motto of lb« 
peace parly was, " Tlie Union as it twM and thi 
CuHstilutinn as it iv" But I Bcc that is a hyy>o- 
critlcal cry ! 

Corporal. Just so. Only notice what he 
says. It is the slavehoMer whose " rights" are 
to be " reasserted" — not a word about the non 
slaveholders, the poor whites. And then, for 
these slaveholders the Constitution is to beot- 
^m2— " aa'Jcci" to— or we must knock under, 
and give up the old ship of State— the good old 
Union. I supposct/ui is the kind of peace thai 
the Chicago Convention Is after- a peace with 
slavery vp and freedom doicn. But go on. 

rrivate. Any more of that stuff? 

Captain. Ob, yes. Take this, also from page 
10: 

Whoever will study the Patilarchal and l.eviu- 
cal Institutions will sea Vie principle of hum ah 

BONDAGB AHD OF PEOPBRTY IN MAN DIVIHBLT 
BANCTIONBD, if not divinely ORDAINED. 

Sergeant. Let me see that, Captain. Well, 
that's clear. It's hard to believe ; but here it 
is. Not slavery in the United States — not lugr* 
slavery— but the principle of human bondage 
and property in man Woodward says is di- 
vinely sanctioned. Notuino aboct colok 1 
That's hard to swallow, and if it wasn't where 
it is, I could hardly believe it. You know I'm 
an old Democrat. 

Private. And I too. 

Captain. Yes, and I too ; but the old party 
has gone to pieces, arid t^iey try to baptize tfiit 
kiTid of truck "democracy." It won't do. 

Private. By-the-bye, while on that point, I 
remember a book we found in Fredericksburg, 
called "Sociology for the South, or the Failure 
of Free Society, by George Fitzhugh, Richmond, 
Va., IbGl." 

We deem thi« peculiar queatlon of rxyro tlavtry 
of vtry little importarxe. The Issue Is made through- 
out the world. on the general sttbject tt slavery in t\t 
abstract. ' ' 

Uam, a son of Noah, was oondemned to slavery, 
and his posterity after tim. We do net adopt lae 
theory that he was the ancestor of the negro race. 
The Jewith iiavei letre n«f nrgrot*^ 'ir.d to eo7\Jlr.t t\i 



justification of slavery to that race would be to weaken 
its scriptural authority, ard to lose the whole weight 
of profcnt authority, for we read or?»o negro tlavery 
in ancient times. 

And he add;, page 225 : 

Slavery, black or white, is right and necessary. 

Corporal. To this it comes in the end ; Lt is, 
in other words, jnst what Woodward says, 
yes, and the sntstance of wha-t every Copper- 
head says. Don't you remember what Herschel 
V. JohD£on said on the 17th of September, 1S5G, 
in Philadelphia? 

Wb r.KLIEVB THAT CAPITAL SHOULD OWN LA- 

BOE la all countries, andut der every form of so- 
cial organization, there must be & aborlng class— a 
elais of men who get their living by the twrat of 
their brow ; and then there must be another class 
that controls and directs tto capital of the coun- 
try. 

That is, THE lucn must own the rooii white 
OR BLACK; and we all have seen enough to icnow 
how this is carried out in Dixie. Just thinli of 
"the poor white trash," as they are called by 
the slave-owners and drivers down here! That's 
enough. 

Captabi. But, boys, I have more about Wood- 
WAUD. Here is a Philadelphia paper of last fall. 
From this paper it seems that he said to George 
W. Hart, of that place, on his way from Gettys- 
burg, our old battle-ground of victory, that 
"tJiewar was itnconstltittional, and that lie had 
HO interest in tlie result." And it also seems 
that he told Tom Cunningham, of Beaver 
county, that " our only coukse was to with- 
draw OUR ARMIES north OF MASON AND 

Dixon'3 line, and offer tehms to the re- 
bels." 

Corporal. That's tough, after all we have 
euffercd aiid done ; but I suppose that is exactly 
what /he Chicntjo Convention means by an "amii- 
fl<iVe" and "suxpinr.lt/n fifhostililics." 

It would be a great idea, boys, when a fellow 
breaks into your house to plunder and murder, 
»L<i you get him knocked over, and just need to 
give him a few luore knocks, to Allow him to 
get np, recover, a-id at you again. Tliat would 
bo an "armistice," "a suxpensiim of hostilities,''^ 
but I rather think we can't go it. 



Private. No, no. We'll fight it out now; and, 
when we stop, have a sure thing of it— a peact 
forever. We don't want patch-work now. 

Sergeant. I'll give up Woodward, that's sure. 
But we have got off the track. Captain. Finish 
that account of the soldiers voting. 

Captain. Well, Woodward's decision wag 
given in May, 1S03. The Copperheads rejoiced. 
The Republicans and Union men determined 
that tl.oy would stick by us, and have the con- 
stitution so amended as to give us the right to 
vote, without regard to Woodwai:d's opinion. 
Accordingly, on the 23d of January, 1SG3, Mr. 
Johnson, a Kepublican, offered in the Senate a 
joint resolution to amend the constitution for 
this purpose. Mr. Benedict, a Kepablican, from 
Huntingdon county, did the same in the House, 
on the 5th of February. This resolution was 
carried. You know, by our constitution, it had 
to be acted on by a second Legislature. It came 
up, therefore, in this year's session. It was be- 
fore the Senate on the 9th of March, 1SG4. 

Here is the Senate vote: 

For Vie Amendment, or For Soldiers Voting— 
Benjamin Champneys, Lancaster; George Con- 
nell, Philadelphia; John JI. DunLap, Lancaster; 
David Fleming, Dauphin; J. L. Graham, Al- 
leghany; Thomas Iloge, Venango; G. W. House- 
holder, Bedford; Henry Johnson, Lycoming; 
William Kinsey, Bucks; M. B. Lowry, Erie; C. 
C. McCandless, Butler; Jeremiah Nichals, 
Philadelphia; Jacob Ridgway, Philadelphia; Dr. 
Thomas St. Clair, Indiana; William J. Turrell, 
Susquehanna; S. F. Wilson, Tioga; W. Worth- 
ington, Westchester; John P. Denney, Al- 
leghany— IS. 

Against the A)nc7idmcnt, or Against Soldiers 
Voting — H. B. Beardslee, Wayne; C. M. Dono- 
van, Philadelphia; John Latta, Westmoreland; 
J. B. Stack, Luzerne; David Montgom-ery, N-or- 
thumberland; J. C. Smith, Montgomery; W. A. 
Wallace, Ckarfield— 7. 

Dodging, or Against Soldiers Voting— GeoTQC 
H. Butcher, Cumberland; Hiester Clymer, 
Berks; A. Hiestacd Giatz, York; Wm. Hopkins, 
Washington; C. L. Lamberton, Clarion; Bern- 
hard Rcilly, Schuylkill; Wm. McSherry, Adams; 
G. W. Stein, Northampton— S. 



Sergeant. Let me look at that. Tos; I sec it. 
£very Uiiioyi tnaji and liqnilUcan voted for us, 
Not one against its. TIic seven voting against ns 
tcerc all Cop])crIicads, callhig ihemselvcs Democrats. 
T7ic eight dodgers— oid Canal ondTortaje Jlailroad 
lloiikins among them — all Copperluads. 

J'rivate. "The ruling passion strong in death." 
And yet they have the impudence to ask our 
votes for their side of the house iu the coming 
election^ 

Corporai. Thai's what I call impudence on 
stilts. But, boys, did you notice this ; one of 
those voting against us, and one of the dodgers, 
were delegates to the Chicago Convention. 

Sergeant. Is that so ? 

Captain. I have a list of the delegates. Twen- 
tieth District, Joun Latta. You And his name 
amoag those in the Senate who voted against 
us. Nireteenth District, C. L. Lambeuton. IIo 
dodged in the Senate ; sung dumb ; had no 
vote for lis. 

Fr irate. Both these chaps against us at home — 
in the Senate — ANDFOBMcCLELLVxiNCnicAGO; 
hasn't T4IE Little Corporal, ocb oldfuiend 
Mac, sold out to our enemies ? It looks 

LIKE IT. 

Captain. That it does. But let me tell how it 
was in the House. All the opposition the amend" 
ment met with was from the Copperhead side. 
Now, the men who are always cursing Uncle 
Abe, and praising Little Mac, were all the time 
against our voting. Democrat as 1 am, IdonH 
like his company. But, notwithstanding the Cop- 
perhead opposition, a majority voted for the 
amendment. A special election was held in 
August, and it was carried by a majority of 
94,607 votes. 

Sergeant. That was first rate; but if it had not 
been for the Republicans, the people would not 
have had the chance to vote. I've never had 
any leaning to them, but I go in for giving 
even the devil his due; and I confess my heart 
is not BO cold as to feel unmoved by acts of 
friendship, ard they have shown themselves 
our friends. 

Private. That's so; but it strikes mo that the 
majority for our voting in the August election 
was just about "Old Abe's" vote in.lSGO. 



Captain. Lai mo eee. Ilia majority waa 
89,1VJ. You're right, Jim. From that it wokI 
senn that tlie men vho vent in for Hi a xnent in for 
»M. The fuiends of Old Abe auk och 

FRIENDS. 

Corporal. Let us look into that matter a litDe 
further. Let us make a list of the liepuhlican 
or Union counties, and of what they call Dcn'o- 
cratic counties, and sec how the majorilius 
stood in them. 

Captain. A good idea ; let xa try it. Let ut 
make two columns. Well, here arc the Repub- 
lican counties ; here are the Democratic conn- 
tics, with the majorities in both cases : 

DEMOCRATTCrOUNTIKS. I EBrUnLICAN COCNTIES. 

Majorities against soldiersl Majorilicufor soldierx 
voting. voting. 

Hrrks 1 031 nancastrr 8,033 

Columbia 1,020 Alle:;hany 8,978 

Cambria 514 Hradfortl -s,;.!! 

<;iearlipld '<i Krle 3,;»4e 

I.-LlKh l,uiT Chester A 9:;3 

IMonroe 1,18a Indiana !i,807 

Northampton GOS i clnwarc 'Z 10? 

Pike g:4 TioKa 3,l« 

Wayne TTT.Susqnohaiina "JiVJii 

Sergeant. Hold up. You have nine of the 
leading counties on each side — eigJitcai in tdl. 
We all see how it is — every one of tite Demo 
erotic counties against us ; every one of the lif pub- 
lican or Union counties strong for ns. You see, 
take it as yo'i will, the thing comes out the 
same way. As judges, as legislators, as voters, 
the one side against us, the other side for us. 
Such things are hard to take down ; and this 
modern Democracy, alias peace party, can't 
have any claims on us. But there is one thing 
troubles me — General ^IcClellan. I d(xi't 
lika to give him up*. 

Captain. Well, I've been thinking m the same 
way. We did love him and think him badly 
used. But then he was our commamlrr, and ii 
was natural for us to think well of him. Aad, 
then, it may be, after all, the Government know 
more about hi:a than we did. We must admit, 
at times, Ac teas vionstrons slow. 

Private. That Is all true; but, see hero, awhile 
ago, Captain, yc i were giving us Woodward's 
views about the- ibelllon, the rights of the South, 
the amendment of the Constitution, and so on. 
Did not JUcClellan, in a letter, jast before the last 
election, endorse Woodward withwit any if or and? 
Aiul if so, vhere is- the difference between the two? 



CajitaiH. That he did bo can't be deaied. 
t'orporal. I have that letter in an old copy of 
ibe Pittsburgh Post, of Tuesday morning, Octo- 
ber lo, ISCG, -which Bome one has sent uie. I'll 
road what McClellan says: 

Obabge, N. J., O3toberl3, 1863. 
To Hon. CJiarlcs Biddle, Chatrmen Democratic Cen- 
tral Committee: 
Dear Sib: •••••• 

1 desire to ttato that, having a.me days ago had a 
rci.LConverEatlon wlti Judge Woodward, I find 
THAT ocn VIBW8 AOEEED. I regard his flection 
u Governor of Pennsylvania as called fo: by thJ 
.11 tf rests of ti.e nation. • • • • I would, 

werr It In my porer, glvo to Judge Wordward my 
Tcl:e and vctc. 

lam, very refpeotfuUy, yjurs, 

Gbo. B. McClellak. 

Captain. That ia surely a full endorsement : 
»nd mark, all that I quoted from "Woodward was 
before McCleu^an's letter. Ee makes no excep- 
tion of any part of WoodicarcV s speech or sayings. 
Acd, besides that, he says he had "a full con- 
rersation" with Woodward, and of course must 
aave had 8/«?Z knowledge of his views; and, 
aaving this, he says their views agree, and urges 
ais election. IcanH see how to avoid the conclu- 
ticn that ulutt one has said the other approved, and 
•.hat's what IcanH do. 

Sergeant. After all, didn't Jim hit the nail on 
Ihe head awhile ago ? 

It comes to this : Little 3fat has given ns np, 
»nd gone over, either in whole or in part, and it 
ion'l make much difference which to the Chi- 
:ago peace party. 

When he was fighting with us for the Union 
«nd the old flag, I was for him. JJut lainHfor 
my man v;ho could give " his voice and vote to 
W' odward.''^ 

Corporal. That's well put. 1 agree with 
you.' JIac, by accepting tJte CTdcago nomlnaiion, 
'tax gone in ml?i Us armistice talk, joined himself 
wi'h Bill Eigler, Vallandigliam, , Wood, Cox, 
Pcndltton, and tlie rest, cind /rau'i travel on tliat 
n-ofl. The man who goes vilh that crowd don^t 
go with me, ami Idoii't go with ?iim. 

PriAiaie. Cut hain't Vallandigham and Wood 
given np McClellanT 

Capfain. Over the left. There is a trick in 
that. The other day, when there was a talk of 



getting up a new convention, Ben Wood 
threw up both hands and said, no, no; dont d\ 
it. It's a good way to make a fuss, "put on,'' 
and pretend to be dissatisSed, in order to gel 
the votes of soldiers and war Democrats. 

Sergeant. Well, well, I can't see, as things 
stand, how we can go McClellan. That idea ii 
a centre shot. He has left ns, and ire in tiirri 
mag leave ?um. 

Private. That's what I'll do. Why I would 
not look or speak to Wood, or Voorhees, oi 
old WicklifTe, or any of the crew; and I won't 
vote for a man who can walk arm in arm with 
them for any purpose. 

Corporal. The old saying is, ^'birds of a 
feather flock together,^' and as Mac has gone with 
t?ie peace birds, IwonH any longer sing Jtis songs. 

Captain. Aff.er all, "it ain't best to swap 
horses in the middle of a river." We have 
tried Old Aee, we have Meade and Grant and 
Sherman and Sueridan, and we had better 
keep the old pilot and not try changes. Mac 
is young; if he behaves well, and turns out all 
right, we can try him in four years. But this 
HEAT we'll go Lincoln and Johnson, and 

AGAINST THE WHOLE PEACE TRIBE. 

FART II. 

OHIO. 

.1 Jifcijor of that State, with Governor Jy^-ongPa 

speech. 

Captai7i. But here comes some of the Buck- 
eye boys. 

2fajor Ohi» regiment. Good morning, boys. 
What have you been driving at ? 

Captain. We've been talking politics. You 
know wc are now on a par with the Ohioans ; 
we've the right to vote. Wc got the right in 
the face of Copperhead opposition. 

Major. So I understand. Bat what conclu- 
sion did you reach ? 

Captain. Tfiat we couldnH go Little JTac andhui 
Virginia co)7ipanion — Pendleton— hec&vise we do 
not believe in giving up the struggle when the 
rebs are on their last legs— penned in, driven to 
the wall. We want a peace that wivl last, not 
one out of which will spring a now war. As to 
McClellan, we have hung on to him long ; but 



ha has deserted our rank* «ud keeps company 
with BTZch men as Vallandigham, Long, and 
Pugh, What, Major, do you think of the result 
of cur talk ? 

Jfajor. All right. And I think I have here 
what would lead you to that conclusion, if 
nothing else would. 

Caj^tain. What is it ? 

Mijor. The speech of our Governor, Brough, 
at Circlcville, to the returned one hundred days 
men. I tell you he shows up the feelings of the 
Chicago Convention toward the soldiers in capi- 
tal style. 

Captain. Let's have it. Read it to us. 

Mijor. I will. It refers chiefly to the resolu- 
tion of that convention relative to soldiers ; but 
hear the Governor : 

Th're 13 a body of men several hundred thcu- 
landEtroQg, and with arms In their hands, who are 
endeavoring to upheld the dear old flag, and to 
bring us peace by lawful means. There are four 
hundrfd thousand men standing upon tte fields of 
the United States under Its banner, ready to lay 
down their lives for the success of the Union cause. 
There are four hundred thousand of those, that these 
scamps at Chicago were angling alter. It would 
not do, therefore, after passlBR resolutions of armis- 
tice, and calling back the army in disgrace, to lot 
this plU go without a llttlesugar-ceatlng. It Is no- 
torious that the soldiers have good jaws to crack 
hard tack with, and gullets to get them down, but 
they could not swallow that pill without a little 
Bugai-coatlng; so they must pass a resolution oom- 
pUmentlng the soldiers. 

I want your papers to print this platform at the 
head of your columns to the election. I want every 
man of you to read It, and to prevail on your neigh- 
bors to sit down and read the resolution in regard 
to soldiers. Coolly consider Its laaguage. It la the 
most lafernal Insult to a body of brave and noble 
men ever olTered, even by the Southern Confede- 
racy. For Davis himself has acknowledged cur 
men were bravo and gallant. "What do these men 
!ay1 

"flcse/wci/, Thatthesjmpathy of the Democratic 
party Is heartily and earnestly extended to the sol- 
ilers of our army who are and have been on ths 
aeld under the flag of our country, and. In the event 
or our attaining power, will receive aU the care, 
protection, regard, and kindness that the bravo 
loldlers of the Utpubllc have bo nobly earned. ' ' 
How does It readi 

' ^Rcsolvcdt That we tender our thanks to the nobla 
men In the army, &o. ' • 



Not* word of It Whatthcnl "That we tea- 
derour sympathies" and our pity to oarjoldlers la 
the field. We do not glorify them. Wp do not fb- 
jol3u In their gallant deeds— In their victories. Ko. 
No man In that Chicago Convention over rej^flr-i 
over a victory yet ; nor any man that snpporti th* 
Chicago platform was ever found kindling a boaUr* 
over ft victory won by cur arms. [Cherri. ] Tiii* 
Is not a bare a£sertIon. They do not rr jolco In il» 
victories won. I^ojbnt they "sympathize" wltti tu« 
soldiers who are standing under the old flag, and on 
the battle-flcld. Well, they might as well jympk. 
thlze with horses that stood on the batt'e-fleld, for 
the horses would care as much about I. .is the sol- 
diers; and tbenules, too. I don't kcow but tt4 
mules would have kicked upth»lr heelj at their 
sympathies for the soldiers, too. 

The language of that resolution Is eluply impu- 
dent ; it U Elmply abuse. It Is simply cowari^Iy, 
and means disgrace. With the outward tongue It 
speaks in accents of affecUon, but inwartly of the 
traitor. "We sympathize with our soldiers. " Tu^j 
are not then la the glorious cause, We don't r««- 
jsloe with them that their patrlctlsm called tlrai 
forth to uphold that banner. We don't sympaiLlm 
with the brave that have gone forth to die. V'« 
don't glory In anything they do. We don't my 
their cause is just; we thank them. Ke simjitf 
pity them. 

Thenwhat^ i.:->.'t trust me for these words, for 
although they i.-j j^round Into my memory, and 
burned Into ray bra..., I won't ask you to trm* to 
my memory. ' ' In the event of our ccming Into 
power, they (the soldiers) will receive all the care, 
protection, and regard that the soldiers of the Re- 
public have earned. ' ' If they come Into power- 
that Is what they arc alter— they will protect an 
send them to their homes, to £ln no more by takln 
up arms against their Southern Drethroa. Tht 
shan't be punished because they darea to fight JeC 
Davis. They shan't be put Into prison, there shan' 
any harm come upon them ; they wlU pr.tect thoa 
and send them cut of danger. Wo want their votes, 
and we mujt be kind to them. And as the devil 
promised what did not belong to him, and what he 
could net give to Christ, these f j 73 promise their 
protecticn; and as that dlstlng'a;.heJ gentlemsn 
was CiSt out of heaven Into the lower regloni, a 
similar fate awaits the Chlcigo fellows. Look at 
the naked Infamy attem.pted to bo practised on tha 
people by the pafsage of this rerolutlon. They want 
the ordinary reader to suppose that they Int'U'! to 
compliment the scl-dlers for doing what they har« 
done. Dut they don't mean any such thing. If 
they had meant It, why could they not havo sail: 
• « We tcndrr our thanks to our brave soldiers who 
bave been nphcUUng our flag against armed rebel- 



Uon 1 ' ' They could not siy It, because the traitors 
■M not mfan It. 

Captain. That's sharp talk. 

Corjioral. Yes; but just. What do we want 
with the syi/ipatfiy of such men as composed the 
Chicago Convention? ThaVspoor sinff for sol- 
dierx. 

Private. We don't forget the votes of that part 
of them who were in Congreis. Had their 
wishes or policy been carried out, we would have 
been without rations, without clothing, without 
theltcr, without medicines, without hospitals — 
andcr the sod, most of us. SYMPATnT! We 
ficvcr got even that until about voting time. 
Major, your Governor understands traitors. 

Sergeant. By the way, what doc? the Balti- 
■iore platform say on that subject? 
Major. I think I have it. Here it is: 
ysolvc(f, That the thanks of tUe Amerlcm pfo- 
10 are due to the soldiers and sillors of tho army 
I navy who have perilled their lives In defence of 
I' r country, and In vindication of the honor of the 
* ; (hat the nation otoes to them some permanent re- 
' nilion of their ■patriotism and tlicir valor, and 
'Li'lr and permanent provision for those of their stir- 
^.vori who have received disabling and honorable 
trvvnds In the service of the country ; and that tto 
mrmorles of those who have fallen In Its defence 
f'lHMbelioM !n grateful and everlasting remem- 
brance. 

Captain. Boys, that has a different ring. You 
jet thanks there, and are to be remembered for 
tour noble deeds — not ]nticd. Your wounds 
»nd scars are considered honorable in that reso- 
Inlion ; and you are to be handed down to the 
future, not as objects of symjyathT/, but of care, 
If ever your wants and condition require it, and 
of honor and glory under all circumstances. 
What a difference! 

Major. Well, out of the abundance of the 
hwrt the mouth speakcth, the pen writes, and 
reaolutions flow. 

PART III. 

MICHIGAN. 

A Muhifjan Lieutenant Colonel, with the vote of 
tlic Legislature of that State. 
Captain. Ilere come along some of the Wolve- 
rines. Come on ; we've got politics in the field 
sow. 



Liculcnaiit Colonel Michi'jan rc<jinwHt. All 
right. I believe you get a chance at voting this 
year. 

Captain. Yes, we do ; but no thanks to the 
peace parly. Woodward in court ; Clymer and 
others out of court, and CopperhK3ad6 at the 
polls kept us from it as long as they could. 
The Union men and Republicans were our only 
friends. How was it in Michigan ? 

iJeiitcnant Colonel. Pretty much the same way, 
A bill was reported fro-m a select joint commit- 
tee giving the soldiers the right to vote. In a 
report made in the Senate against this bill, 
signed by Wm. A. C. Clark and W. E. Werner, 
it said (page 19), " No Government ever sur- 
vived the vote of its armies ;" Holdlcr voting 
hcing thus represented as a corrupting process. 
And, on the 3d February, 1SG4, Mr. Gidley, a 
regular Copperhead, insulted us by offering to 
amend the title so as to make it read as follows: 
"A bill to teach our soldiers in the field their 
political duty, our people a disregard of con- 
stitution and law, and to make our elections a 
farce." 

Captain. Why all that is Woodward ove^ 
again. 

Lieutenant Colonel. So it is. Bat to all this 
it was answered, in a report made by S. W. 
Fowler, a staunch Republican: 

"Without the slightest reflection upon any per- 
son, It certainly Is error to suppose that men absent 
for a few months, or a year or two, In the Govern- 
ment scrvlCL-, taking an active part In deciding, 
with their swords, tho greit political questions of 
tie day, are less qualified for the duties of tit clco- 
tor than they would have been irth?y liad allowed 
themselves to have remilned deaf to theca'.Isof 
their country, slumbered on in the quietude of their 
homes, without dreaming of tho responsibilities of 
the hour. 

Liet him who thinks he can cucco<.d visit tho camp] 
of those war-worn veterans, and undertake tod?- 
ceive them as to the ticket they thould vote, and if 
he does not return a better he crtalnly will be a 
wiser man. •••••• There li 

no other equal n amber of men In or out of America 
who read more, or take more Interest In the cur- 
rent event? of the day than the soldiers of this Ke- 
public. 

And Mr. Hemingway, in a report made by 
him in the House, adds this to the answer : 

And there are many, also, In the army of thi 



United States tliat are or foroli;a blrtb, ami hare 
fle 1 to tills country to enjoy the freeJom and liberty 
ttiat ytfTf not to bo had la ttip country of thrlr birth, 
a2<l which are held oat by this country to the oppressc d 
of every nation; and such men would not be very 
likely to coantenanoe the remctost Idea ol despo- 
tism. 

Corporal. But all this, I suppose, had no in- 
fluence on the Copperheads ? 

Licutc7ia7it ColoTicl. l^ot the least. Bull find 
the reports quote Woodward, and, of course, 
as McClcllan approved of all Woodward's views, 
he nnist fairly be constdcred as approving of the 
views thrown out against the soldiers of Michi- 
gan voting. 

Captain. Yes, and everywhere else. TJicrc is 
no half-way hoit^c for lilrn or any man to stop at. 

Lieutenant Colonel. But let me give you the 
vote. It was just what was expected. In the 
Senate, for soldiers voting, 19 — all Ilepnblicans; 
against soldiers voting, 10— all modem, self- 
called Democrats. This you will find in Senate 
journal 1SC4, pages 19S-9. In the House, yeas, 
59— all Republicans ; nays, 23- all, except two. 
Copperheads. This is from House journal 1SC4, 
page 223. 

Captain. So it goes ; but our crowd has 
grown. 

PART IV. 

WISCONSIN. 

Wisconsin Adjutant with the action oj that State 

Ad'jutant, Wiscoiisin regiment. We have been 
much interested in what we have heard. Wo 
couldn't be otherwise in a question concerning 
soldiers voting. Well, if I understood the 
Lieutenant Colonel correctly, the course pursued 
in Michigan was about the same pursued in our 
Btat«. In 1SG2 our Governor said in his mes- 
sage that " he considered a law giving us the 
privilege of voting a matter of simple justice." 

The Demo?racy resisted it. F. O. Thorpe, 
one of its leaders in the Senate, made a long 
report against our voting, calling the measure 
" one of tlie viost dangerous an'i mischievous poli- 
tical measures ever devised " — the Woodward- 
McCiellan objection over again. And in the 
Senaie, on the IGtk of September, the vote in 
favor of our voting was 19, and against, 7— the 
first all Republicans, the last all peace men. 



In the Iloufee, the vote was b.i for our volinj: 
and 40 against it— the first all Republicans am 
Unionists, the la£<, all Democrats. 

PART V. 

MINNESOTA. 

A Drum-Major oj tfiat State apjtcar.t, with an ac 
coufU of its proceedings. 

Captain. Let us hear from Minnesota. 

Dritm-Major. Minnesota don't differ from 
Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The 
soldier-voting law was passed at an extra ses- 
sion of the Legislature, held in September, 1S62, 
by pretty much a party vote. As usual, He- 
publicans and Unionists mostly going for it. Rnd 
Copperheads against it. 

PART VI. 



Illinois Liaitcnant comes along arid tells how the 

soldiers of that State have been kcptfrom voting. 

IJaitC7iant Illinois regiment. Just as it wa? in 
Minnesota and the other States it has been in 
Illinois; only some of you are better o^'than 
we are, for we are stiU denied the privilege of 
voting. The Copperheads had the . majority in 
our Legislature; and, with such men as Burr, 
Davis, Hicks, Graham, Bhope, and Turner at 
their head, they prevented any legislation 
friendly to us. 

Captain. Well, boys, there is no use in run- 
ning the matter further. It is CLE.vn as dat- 
light that tiib only oprosition •weucii sol- 
dier-votixg das met with has been from tub 
Chicago peLvce pa.rtt, a:st> that the Lin<:oln- 
ite3 everywhere havb stood vp for orh 
rights in this respect. 

Lieutenant Colonel. And another thing is 
clear : McClellan is running on all fours with 
that JeSf. Davia-Vallandigham-Voorhees-Ben. 
Wood faction. Not a man, I venture, in any of 
the States that worked to get us votes was a 
member of the Chicago Convention, or today 
advocates McClellan. And, on the other hand, 
not a man opposed to our voting attended the 
Baltimore Convention, or now sustains M:. Lin- 
coln ; and I am one of that class that never for- 
gets its friends. 



10 



PART VII. 

rSDIiXA. 

An Indiana Chaplain'' s Views. 
Chaplain. The Boldiers of my State (Indi- 
ana), like those of Illinois, have no vote, 
because of the opposition of the peace men. 
Bat let me say I folly believe your conclusions 
correct. The straggle of the nation is momen- 
touF. It is one of right against ■irrong; of 
liberty against slavery. It is a struggle of life 
or death. And as in moral contests, so in the 
present national contest, there can be no neu- 
trals. He that is notwithus, for us, is against us; 
' and while I would rejoice and thank God for 
peace, with all its quiet and pleasures, I believe 
that it can be only permanently secured at the 
point of the sword and the mouth of the can- 
non. The pen of the negotiator can't secure it. 
The voice of the champions of an armistice 
can't obtain it. 

And we should all remember, as Patricli 
Henry said in the Revolutionary days: "Peace 
may be purchased at too dear a price." The 
price demanded by Jeff. Davis is far too great: 

THH WITHDRAWAL OF OUR ARMIES, THE INDE- 
PENDENCE OF THE South, a dissevered Union 
And I defy the whole Chicago Convention, its 
artful president and all, to put their fingers on 
a oingle word from the South looking to peace 
oa any other terms. 

PART VUI. 

NEW YORK. 

A Xcw York Colonel spealcs out about Sejjmciir, etc. 
Colonel. Don't fear, Chaplain, our boys wos't 
give up the struggle until the old flag — God 
blees it— floats over every foot of rebel soil. 
And if that can't be done in any other way, wo 
wiW take our lessons from the Heavens ; and as 
the rebels were expelled from its territory, wo 
will expel them from the last inch of Am-erican 
soil cursed by their presence. And, by all the 
power of our votes and of the law of the land, 
wo will Etrike at the whole crowd of their sym- 
pathizers at the North, cot exeepling McClel- 
l»Ej and, I will add, Seymour, for you know I 
am a Now Yorker. And I mu^l loi forget to say 
that Seymour vetoed our soldier bill— true to 
the InBtlncta of his party as developed in other 



States. But we got on without him, and we will 
tell him, when we come to vote, what we think 
of him. We will make a one- term Governor of 
him without s doubt. 

PART IX. 

OPINIONS AND ARGUMENTS FROM ALL QUARTERS. 

Captain. And that is another argument 
against McClellan. The very president of the 
convention that nominated liim — the great 
talker and planner of that convention— couldn't 
allow the bill giving New York soldiers the 
right to vote to go along without vetoing it. If 
Ma-c don't feel and think like Seymour, he never 
would have touched him. 

Lieutenant Colonel. Well, that is a closed-up 
question. Men only shout on and uphold those 
whose sentiments and aims are like their own. 
Virtue admires virtue ; vice sticks to vice ; 
devils praise devils ; unfallen angels adore God ; 
disloyalty worships disloyalty ; patriotism eulo- 
gizes patriotism. Judged hy these truths, Mae 
canH get any favors from us. 

Mc'/or. The truth is, the Chicago^party is a 
fraud throughout, and it has no more claim to 
the good old word Democrat, OMi of which it 
makes nearly all its capital, than the lords of 
England, or the King of France. 

Colonel. That is true as preaching — I wean, 
our friend the Chaplain's preaching; not that 
rebel preaching which disgraces some Northern 
pulpits. One of our boys got hold the other 
day of a book by Fitzhugh, called " Camiiballs 
All," published in Richmond, which tells the 
truth on that point. On page 370, he says: 

Tks Democratla party, purged of Ita ridlcallgm 
and laigely recruited from tberaaksoftlieOld Line 
Wtlgs, has bccomo evidently and actlvejy conser- 
vative. It is the aUipodes of the Dcmocra'.ic party o-J 
the days of Jejfcrson, in lice grounds wUicfi it occupies 
cxd the opinions which it holds (what it professes lo 
hold is another thing). Yet It has been a ccnsUtect 
part.y throughout. Con-.Ltent, in wisely and boldly 
adapting lt3 action to the emergencies of twooc:!- 
6lon. ItlspitholDgioal, and practises according to 
prevailing symptoms. TlB true, It has a mighty 
nosology In Its Dv'claratlon of ladcpendence, Bill of 
KlghtB, coastltutloas, platforms, and preisables 
and resolatlons; bet, like a good physician, U 
watcUfS the state of the patient, and casts nosology 
to the dogs when the symptoms require it. 



11 



Captain. That is about it. The old party waa 
one of principle. The thinj» that takes its name 
la a humbug — worse, a nestof treason — madenp 
of all kinds of materials, only seeking, by any 
means, fair or foul, place and power. I )ust 
think of a rhyme that hits it off as it has ex- 
isted for the last few years, and which each 
member of the Chicago Convention, and, I will 
add, its candidates too, might sing : 

' ' Bat I cars not a flg for a name, 
If I can but succeed In my wishes ; 

For this has been always my game, 
To Etrlve for the loaves and the fishes. ' ' 

Coloml. Well, they wont get much of a feast 



fiom us. But, there's the call to parade. A< 
good soldiers we'll answer, turn out. 
LicHtmant Colonel. Kemembeh the kf.ectio^. 

BOYS. 

Private. And Qi.n Ans, too, TunTuisD rn:E.Nn 

OB- THE SOLDIERS ; TUCB TO TUEM AND THE DLL 
FLAG AS Cnil-D TO PARENT OR DAT TO NIODT. 

JAcntcnant Colonel. Toe Union FOTin%-EH. 
BOYS. 

Corporal. Dowk with the rebels, boys. 

Major. YE3, and all tub SYMPATniZERS AND 

defenders above Mason and Dixon's line. 

Colonel. All rigut, boys. The Union, Lin- 
coln, Johnson, Grant, Suerman, Sheridan, 

AND ViCTOET. 



SCENE II. 

GROUP AFTEFv TARADE. 
PRESIDENTIAL QUESTION, AND CANDIDATES IN ADDITIONAL ASPECTS. 



STATES EEPRESEK-TED: 
MASSACHUSETTS, INDIANA, CONNEOTI- 
CUT, MARYLAND, DELAWARE, NEW 
JERSEY, WEST VIRGINIA, VERMONT. 

persons represented: 

Cr.pliirn, Maine re?: ' mt. | Corpora/, N.Hamp.rej?' 
Lieutenant, C,i:n-a. do. \Sergeant, Maryland do. 
Prira^f, N. Jersey do. \Lie\U.Colrmel,W.\&.6o. 
iM/Tjor, MasBach'B <2o. 'Co/onci, Vermont Co. 

Gcqtiain. We've had a fine parade today. 
The boys showed off well. 

Lieutenant. That they did ; they looked as if 
they could go It on a double quick and drive all 
RebeWom before them. By the by, Captain, if 
I may hop from one subject to another, wha' 
do you think of the Presidential election ? A 
good deal of talk is springing up about that. 



Captain. Yes, I heard some this morning — a 
good many things of interest. 

Ffivaie. Ton were at that talk, were you ? I 
have heard of it. It's said the boys setUed 
dov-n against JlcClcllan. 

Captain. Most of the time I was there ; and 
you ane right— they concluded they coulda'l 
support him. 

TAevtcnant. Eow 60 ? 

Captain. Wtll, it Ecems he has endorsed 
Woodward, of Pennsylvania— a full-blooded 
Southern sympathizer; that ho has gone into 
partnership with Harris, of Maryland, Long, of 
Ohio, and all that bncd of peace men; and 
the boys wound up with the determin.ition that 
titcy couldn-t go for any one icho fiad anyVang U 
do mth that crmcd. 



12 



Major. I rather guesa they were right. 

Captain. Their facts and arguments were 
hard to get over. I confess th-ey made a con- 
vert of me. 

Corporal. Of me too. I happened to drop in 
their company. A man can't touch pitch and 
be nndeliled. It is oaly those birds whose taste 
agree that gather around carrion, and Mac. 
must either be defiled by his associations, or 
else he must hav? " fallen from grace " and got 
an appetite for the food of traitors. There's a 
screw loose somewhere. 

Captain. Certain it is, there is Eomething 
wrojig with our eld favorite ; and, as I said, the 
reasoning this morning was good ; the most of 
it though ran against McGlcllan and the Chicago 
gathering. But may not a good many things 
be said directly in favor of Ifr. Lincoln 7 I 
think so. 

Lieutmant. What have you, Captain, of that 
sort? Bringout things "new and old." Let's 
hav'> all. 

Captain, When we come to think fully about 
it, this has great force. He was once a poor, friend- 
less toy— no one to help him— and he had to 
struggle hard with poverty and disadvantages. 
Now he overcame, by God's help, all; roscup from 
his humble origin and walk— things the South- 
ern Elavc-owners and breeders— </ifl chivalry— 
always disliked— to the highest place among 
the nations cf the earth. There must he talent 
and worth in a 77ian that coidd do iJiat; and at 
lergth, after a most severe trial of three years 
or so, he has been once more chosen to be the 
leader, the color-bearer of the great Union party 
in its struggle against open and disguised trai- 
tors, for the first place in the gift of the people. 

Private. There is something in that, too. To 
stmgglo up from poverty to the "White House" 
was a big thing; and then to behave, when 
there, so as to be asked by a respectable con- 
vention, a large part of the American people, 
to remain there, amounts to a good deal. Kun 
down and abused, as he is, (I believe Washing- 
ton was abused, too, and about in the same 
way,) he must, after all, be a immbcr one man. 

Licutaiant. But ain't there auolLcr way of 
looking at the facts that h« was a rail- splitter- 



a boatman — a poor boy and a poor man ; and 
that now he is the President of the United 
States ? Ain't it a great encouragement to all 
the poor boys of the land, their fathers and 
mothers, to teach their children to be good, 
industrious, and useful ? 

Captain. Truth, every word of it. I was 
going to mention that, but you are ahead of 
me, and it is as good, may be better, from your 
lips than mine. 

Private. Yes, it is true, and I won't, among 
us, keep it back, that it had, last Presidential 
election, influence with me. I hain't much of 
this world, but then I had a dear little boy — 
I have him still, may Heaven take care of my 
Willie ; well, when I looked at him, and thought 
"honest Abe" was once a child like him — a 
poor boy, and had come vp, up, until he was 
running for President, I couldnH find it in my 
heart to vote ajalnst him. For I thought if the 
" rail-splitter " can maul his way to the White 
House, why might not Willie some day hew his 
way there, and feeling in that manner, I voted 
for him, and I'll do so again. Why, to vote 
against him would be like voting against my 
own boy, taking from him a high example o^ 
what he may do ansl become, and I can't do 
that. And as my heart has gone off home, 1 
tell you MoUie felt and thc-ught just as I did. 

Jfajor. Did you ever think that there were 
two of the satne kind up before the people now, 
and that Andy Johnson was a poor boy, also— 
a kindred spirit ? 

Private. That's so; I k7tcw it, but hadn't 
thought of it ; a tailor boy Johnson was — and 
they say his wife taught him to read. 

Captain. That was the way of it; it is en- 
couraging to honest poor people. Two poor 
boys running together for the two highest 
offices in the world. Well, I'll give them a 
lift on that ground, anyhow. 

JIajor. But don't think that is all in favor of 
Andy Johnson. Far fro-m it. From the be- 
ginning, he has been trttc to tltc country and 
dow7i OH traitors. What has he not done, in 
Congress and out of Congress? Ofi"inTen- 



13 



nessee, BHrrounded with assassins and danger, 
he has never flinched; and his son has all the 
time been one of the brave Union defenders — 
a soldier of the great Western army. Tlte ri^ht 
blood is in tliat stock. 

Captain. What a contrast between Johnson 
and that fellow Pendleton, who is on the Chi- 
cago ticket with McClellan. IIo has been a 
member of Congress from Ohio ; but when did 
he utter even a word in our favor, or a word of 
encouragement to us, or to the wives and chil- 
dren of our fallen comrades 1 Never, never ! 
I've looked over his record. By his votes he 
has been against us, and he goes in for dividing 
the country, kissiiig the /South a moH tender fare- 
well, or making a new government, with her 
ideas all uppermost. lie is the messmate and 
camp companion of that arch traitor, Vallan- 
digham. 

Captain. And that's the kind of a nag that's 
harnessed up with McClellan, and mark it, they 
work together. Well, give them the rein, and 
they will drive the nation to Jeff. Davis or to 
his Satanic majesty — a near relative of Little 
J«fr., I suppose. It won't do, boys; that Chi- 
cago menagerie was made up of strange ani- 
mals ; you ca:n't iriu':t them. 

Private. And that is not all. I tell you, I 
believe if it hadn't been for such creatures, we 
would have had peace before this— at least, 
they put every obstacle in the way of our suc- 
cess they can. For instance, they are down on 
drafts, thus keeping our ranks reduced. 

Major. And drafts are just what General 
Grant and Sherman favor and urge. Here are 
their letters: 

CittPoimt, September 13, 10. 30 A. 31. 
Hon. Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary cf War: 

Woou^ht to have tho whole number of men called 
for by the President In tUe shortest possible time. 
Prompt action infilling our armies will liave more ef- 
fect upon tlie enemy than a victory over them. They 
profess to belifve, and make their 7?ien believe, (here 
is such a party Sorth in favor •/ recognizing Sou'.h- 
em independence that tite draft cannot be enforced. 
Let tliem be undeceived. Deserters come into our linr^ 



daily, wlio tdl us that the men are r.early univcrsaU u 
tired of the tear, and tliat desertions would b" mttch 
morr frequent, but that they believe peace will be NK- 
OOTIATLU AITKUTHE FALI^ ELEUTIO.V. 

The enforcement of llic draft and prompt filling up 
of our armies will save ttie iticdding of blood to ar, 
immense degree. 

Tf. a. (}BANT, Iil?atnant (Icccral. 

And now for Sherman: 

Atlamta, Ga., Sept. 13, O.CO A. M. 
Hon. E. M, Stanton, Secretary of War: 

I am very ;;lad to hear that the drart will be en- 
forced. First, wo need the;men ; an^I, pcconJly, 
they come as prlvat/rs to fill up our old and tr:c I 
regiment?, with ttclr exper:encod officers already 
on hand ; and, thirdly, because the enforcement 
of tho law will manifest a power resident In our 
Government equal to the ociaslon. 

Our GovcrnMent, though a democracy, sliould, in 
times ef trouble and danger, be able to wield the pctwrr 
of a great nation 

All 18 AVBLL HERE. 

W. T. SUEKMAN, 

3Iajor General. 

Corporal. Those letters are clear. I tell you 
the conduct of these Copperheads is out- 
rageous — hard to stand. 

Captain. The letters read by the Major are 
just to the point. But the one General Grant 
wrote to Congressman Washbume, befdrc these 
letters, covers more ground. I cut it out of the 
paper, and will read It. 

UEADQUAKTEEfl AKMIES OF THE UhITED STATES, 

CiTT Point, Va. , August lu, ISG-i. 
lion. E. V. Washbume: 

Ueau-Sie: Ittatetoall citizens wto visit ma, 
tkat all we want now to insure an early rertoratioa 
cf tho Union is a determined unity of sontSn^at 
North. T.UO reb6l3 have now in their ranks their Lost 
man. The little boys and old men are guardlnn 
prisoners, Kuardlns? rallroail brldgej, and fcrmlZK 
a j;ood i.art of their garrison for entrenched posi- 
tions. Any man lost by them cancot be repliiod. 
Thoy have robbed the cradle and the grave t-iniMj 
to ^et their present force. 

Besides What they lose in frequont skirmishes ani 
battles, tticy are now losing, from desertions aiui 
other causes, at least one regiment per day. WItb 



u 



Ut!( drain upon thorn the end la not far distant, If 
we will only be true to ourselves. 

Tht Ir only hope now 13 In a divided North. This 
might give them rolnlorcements from Tennessee, 
KtntacUy, 3Iaryland, and Missouri, while It would 
weaken us. With the draft quietly enforced the 
enemy would becom? despondent, and would make 
bat Uitlo rtslstance. 

' ' 1 have no doubt bulthe enemy are exceedingly 
"anxious to hold out until after the Presidential 
' ' election. They have many Lopes from Its effects. 
' ' They hope a counter-revolution ; tiiey hope tte 
"election of the peace candidate; In fact, liUe Ml- 
' ' cawber, they hope lor something to ' 'turn up. ' ■ 

"Oar peace friends, If they expest peace from sepa- 
' ' ration, are much mistaken. It would but be the 
' ' beginning cf war, with thousands of Northern men 
' 'joining the South because of cur dlsgract In allow- 
' »ing separation. To have ' 'peace on any terms, ' ' 
• the South would demand the restoration of theli 
> 'slaves already freed. They would demaid indent- 
' 'nlty for losses sustained, and they would demand t 
' -treaty which would mak£|the North slave-hunter* 
' 'for the South. They would demand pay for thi- 
' 'restoration of every slave escaping to the North. 
Yours, truly, U. S. Gramt. 

That, you eee, goes etraight to the mark, and, 
beside other important things, says the rebeli 
are looking to a divided North and to the car- 
rying out of tHe Chicago peace plans for success. 

Captain. And we know that's so. We read the 
same thing the other day i-n the Richmond En- 
quirer and Pwichmond Examiner, which that 
batch of deserters brought over, and they and 
the prisoners all tell the same tale. 

Sergeant. May their hopes be blasted— and I 
nearly said the Chicago Convention men, too. 
They are meaner than the rebels ; the one class 
fight the coxLutry rpen and square, and risk tluir 
lives on tlie battle-ground Jor their cause; theotfier, 
too cowardly to do so, keep vp a ki7id of guerilla 
icar or ojyposition at home. Old Dr. Breckin- 
ridge, the other day, in Lexington, Kentucky, 
look this view of them, describing them as 
^Rapscallions, uho are nciOicr honest enough nor 
brave enough to take up arms on citfier side. 

Captain. I leave other Statei to speak for 
i.hcmflelves; but it seems to me that description 



would Just fit the Hoosler Copperbeads. Whila 
pretending to be against all coercion— turning 
pale at the eightof blood or violence— they were 
secretly, cowardly arming to begin war at ftome. 
They therefore bought arms and ammunitica 
in the East, and had them shipped to Indiana- 
polis, marked " ScNDAT School Books," di- 
rected to n. H. DODD & Co., rrilNTEKS ANB 
B00KD1SDER3. 

Corporal. This is a fair specimen of their 
consistency and honesty. But it's just carrying 
out the original plan. You all remember old 
Pierce wrote Jeff. Davis, on January C, ISCO, a 
letter, with these words : 

Without discussinq the qdkktion op Kight 
—of abstract power to seckde, I have luver believed 
that actual disruption of the Union can occur without 
blood; and if through the madness of Northern AbolU 
lionists that dire calamity must come, the fighting wUl 
not be along Mason and Dixon's line merelij. It will 

KB WITHia OUK OWN BOEDEES, IN OTJE OWM 
BTEBET8, BETWEEN THE TWO CLASSES OF CITlZKKi 
TO WaOM I HAVE BEyESEED. THOSE WHO I>E»T 
LAW AND SCOUT CONSTITUTIONAL OBLIGATIONe. 
WILL, IF WE EVEE EEACH THE ARBITRAMENT 0» 
ARMS, FIND OCCUPATION ENOUGH AT HOME. 

Sergeant. I've something which tallies exactly 
with that. Jeff. Davis, in a speech which ha 
made in 1S5S, before the Mississippi Legisla- 
ture, said : 

' 'I am happy also to state that, during the par. 
"luiamer, I heard In many places, what previously 1 
> 'had only heard from the late President Pierce, th« 
' 'deciarall :n that whenever a Northern ai my shouU 
"be assembled to march for the subjugation of tht 
' 'South, they would have a battle to fight at home b'-for* 
' Hhcy passed the limits o/ their oion Slate, and one la 
"which our /riendj Claim that the victory will at 
' 'least be doubtfal. 

This speech was published in 1S59, by Joha 
Murphy & Co., right under my eyes, almost, it 
Baltimore. 

Captain. That extract. Sergeant, I believe li 
new ; I never heard it before, but it just lets iti 
cat out of the bag, and conQrms the notion I 
have had all along, that there was, from the be 
ginning, a regular conspiracy between lb: 
leaders of the rebellion and leading n^n in ih« 
North and West, elaitning to be Drmerrats. 



15 



Lieutenant Colonel. Why, iu our section we 
have never denbted that; and of all base crea- 
tures on earth, we think th(» vilcet are these 
peace men around us. With h3 they are nearly 
all .7)ies— kind'of telej^raph posts and wires for 
Generals Lee and Early — and we would as soon 
trust a catamount or robber of the desert as one 
of tliem. The trutii is, Generals Grant and 
Sherman, in these letters, take the only correct 
j^ronud. Let our ranks be filled up; stop all 
talk about negotiations, and fight the matter 
through. That's what we go in for. A Chicago 
peace would be for West Virginia, murder, as- 
sassination, oppression, and wrong unheard of! 

Sergeant. And we should remember our breth- 
ren of the border Slates in these respects. 

Captain. Here, boys, I've just got hold of an- 
other of Sherman's letters, in answer to the 
Mayor of Atlanta. Let's see what he says: 

» 'To stop wirwo must defeat tterobel armies that 
' 'are arrayed against the Laws and ConstUatlon 
' which all men must respect and obey. • • • • 

' 'War l3 cruelty, and ycu cannctieflne It; and 
' these who brought war on onr country deserve all 
' 'the curses and maledictions a people can rourout. 
' 'I know I had no haad In makln? this war, and I 
' 'know that I wlH make more sacriCccs thai any of 
» 'you to-day to secure peace. 

' 'Bat you canaothave peace and a division of our 
' 'country. 

' 'If the United States submits to a division now, 
' 'It will not stop, but win go on tlU we reap the fate 
"of Slesico, which Ij eternal war. The United 
"States does and must assert Its authority wherever 
' 'it has power ; If It relaxes one bit to pressure It la 
' 'gone, and 1 know that such l3 not the national 
"feeling. 

• • • • • "We don't want your tegroes, or 
• <j^ur horses, or year hotises, or ycur land, or any- 
' 'thing you have,; tut wo do want and will have a 
"jusi obedience to the laws of the United Stitts. 
' 'That we will have, and If it Involves the dr strnc- 
' 'tlon of your Improvoircnts we cannot help It, 

"I repeat, then, that, by the orisinal compact of 
"goverEment, the United States had certain rights 
' 'in Georgia, which have never been reUnqui3ted, 
' 'and never vrlll be ; that the i outh be^an war by 
"seizing forts, arsenals, mints, custom-tcuECP, 
"ic. , &o., long before Mr. Lincoln was installed, 
' 'and before the Soutt had one jot or tittle of pro- 
"vwjatlon. •••••••• 



"I WANT r'KACE, AND BELIKVB IV CAW ONLY Dl 
"RBAOHCD THKOUOH UhIOSC and WAtt. 

"W. T. «;UEI:MAX, MaJ.-Ceu.- 

JFaj^r. Noble sentiments — true policy. Why 
Sherman's pen is as sharp as his sword. 

Limtenant Colonel. Let's follow oat that 
policy; give no countenance to the "peacc-al- 
nny-prico men," and it won't be long until wi 
shall have a solid and lasting peace. 

Captain. What's up now? The boys are try 
ing their lungs. See there, the flags are waving, 
too. What's on hand i There cornea a colo- 
nel, swinging his sword, and their hats are al: 
going up in the air ! 

Colonel. Good news! good news ! She.-idan 
has just thrashed Early again, took sixteen 
cannon, drove the robs pell-mell, belter skelter 
A perfect rout. 

Captain. Hurrah, boys, hurrah ! Skies are 
brightening all around. 

(Conversation resumed after the rejoicing.) 

Major. Well, we'j/e ord'j to give t/ie peace vien, 
headed hy little 3fac and Pendleton, propped up 
chii^g hy tlic first, a good rout, a regular dejeat 
at the polls, and %ce^ll soon be in Hicltmond. 

Private. That's it; and if we do our part in, 
voting, United States Grant, sure as the fuu 
rises, will plant the old stars on the spires of 
RichEiond. 

Sergeant. Yes, for rebeldom will grow faint nsd 
desponding, if ifie NortJitm teing of its force:* 
tin peace meti, should te overthrown at the cicc 
tlons. 

Coloiul. Well, let us do our part, vote for 
those who go in for conquering a peace, not 
for for legging it, or buying i7,and we'll put ar. 
end to this war. 

JT^ijor. And perhaps before that ; anjbowour 
vote should go the same way, in or out of Rich- 
mond, at home or abroad. I go the pentinients 
of Douglas uttered in May, ISCl, in the great 
"Wigwam" in Chicago, who, when on his way 
to bio home to die, cried out to the vast rrnUi- 
tudo who eagerly listened to his last public ad- 
dress : 



16 



' ' We cannot recognize Secession. Reeognizo It 
' once, and you have not only dissolved govfrnment, 
"butycu have destroyed social order, and upturned 
' 'tte foundations of Eoclety. You have Inaugurated 
' 'anarchy In Itg worst form, and will shortly cxpe 

■ 'rience all the horrors of the French revolution. 
' 'Then wo have a solemn duttj to maintain the Go- 

■ 'Ternmert. The greater our unanimity, the fpee- 
"dlorthe day of peace. We havt prejudices to over- 
"eome irom the few short months since of a lierce 
' 'f-arty contest. Yet these must bo allayed. I.et ug 
' "^ay aside all criminations and recriminations as to 
' "the origin of these difficulties. IVhen we shall have 
' -a country again with the United Stales Jlag Jloating 
' 'over it, and respected on every inch of American soil, 



"r/ will then be time enough te aik who and xrhat 
' 'brought all this upon us. ' ' 

Colonel. Who cannot go these sentiments ? 

Captain. Rebels and hypocritical peace men, 
But we aint of either class. 

Friifote. And as we don't mean to favor 
them, or run any risks when the nation is 
battling for life, we wHl all go for Linxoln 
AXD Johnston; the friends of poor men ; the 
CHAMnoNS of the Union, and the firm foes 
OF ALU Treason. 

Colonel. That's it— 

The Union forever !— hurrah, boys, hurrah ! 
Down with the traltora— up with the stars! 



SOLDIERS' PEACE ARGUMENT : 

MOBILE, 

IIATTERAS, 

PORT ROYAL, 

FORT DOXELSON, 

SniLOn, VICKSBURG, 

DRAINSVILLE, CORINTH, 

GAINESVILLE, FORT HENRY, 

CEDAR MOUNTAIN, BELMONT, 

ROANOKE ISLAND, SHARPSBURG, 

ISLAND NO- 10, CEDAR MOUNTAIN, 

PORT HUDSON, PEA RIDGE, OPEQUAN, 

WINCHESTER, ANTIETAM, GETTYSBURG, 

WILLIAMSBURGII, VICKSBURG, MILL SPRING, 

SOUTH MOUNTAIN, FORT PULASKI, ATLANTA, 

MURFREESBORO', NEW ORLEANS, COAL HARBOR, 

CHICKAMAUGA, SPOTSYLVANIA, REAMS' STATION, 

CHATTANOOGA, LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, FISHER'S HILL, 

MALVERN HILL, FORT WAGNER, FORT MACON, HKL1:NA, 

PERP.YVILLi:, ARKANSAS POST, RICH MOUNTAIN, NEWBERN, 

NORFOLK, WEST POINT, GAULEY RIVER, STONEMAN'S RAID, 

PRAIRIE GROVE, PITTSBURG LANDING, MONITOR & MERRIMAC, 

YOllKTOWN, KEARSARGE AND ALABAMA, KILPATRICK'S RAID. 

PORT GIBSON, GRIERSON'S RAID, JACKSON CITY, BIG BLACK RlVlilL 

BAKER'S CREEK, GRENADA, CANE HH.L, WEEHAWKEN AND ATLANTA. 



CHRONICLK PRINT, WABHINGTON, D. C. 



012 027 993 2 # 



